Did you realise how ridiculous your weapon agenda sounds? It's easy to argue that weapons serve your protection when in fact it is the fascination behind owning murder instruments that drives your interest.

Did you realise how ridiculous your weapon agenda sounds? It's easy to argue that weapons serve your protection when in fact it is the fascination behind owning murder instruments that drives your interest.

Did you realise how ridiculous your weapon agenda sounds? It's easy to argue that weapons serve your protection when in fact it is the fascination behind owning murder instruments that drives your interest.

I bet you got those pictures when we were on high terrorism alert. As for the Queen she is a $#@! and she has guns to protect her.

And you can't go to Walmart/Asda any buy a pack of bacon and an AK47 so you can go shooting little kidies when youra bored on a Monday morning.

Point is, our security has guns and so do yours, and the basis of your gun culture claim was based purely off your comment of seeing security carrying guns. Your statement just seemed ignorant. America is a lot bigger than an airport (apparently even my state alone is 3x bigger than the UK) and parts of it are a lot different than the same old story the media likes to tell.

Such as we can't go to WalMart and get an AK47 either, some don't even sell rifles/shotguns or ammo. None sell handguns, which are the most widely used firearm for a mass shooting.

This next bit isn't directed towards you specifically, but just something everyone should take note of (even for American's about other places).

I've met foreign exchange students from France, Germany, Spain, England and newly migrated ones from parts of Africa and India. They were all completely off on at least a few assumptions about America, and most of it was stuff they heard through the media. Our German exchange student in high school expected to have to ride a horse to school and see everyone wearing cowboy hats. Maybe more people should take the lesson they learned from those assumptions, and that you shouldn't judge before actually seeing for yourself or taking the time to actually learn. Even people within America make false assumptions about people in other states, so just imagine how wrong it is for people to make assumptions when they are an ocean away.

I haven't noticed it here...then again I never go in the sporting goods. I do know that when I lived in Indiana that we had rifles but that was a long time ago (10+ years ago). so i don't know if they do anymore. i haven't seen them in walmarts in Texas...and i've been looking for airsoft rifles...though i can't confirm it. back when i was a teenager, walmart had them right up front, with tons of ammo, here, i don't see it up front at least.

Did you realise how ridiculous your weapon agenda sounds? It's easy to argue that weapons serve your protection when in fact it is the fascination behind owning murder instruments that drives your interest.

They also allow me to have some level of readiness against tyranny and foreign invasion, should that ever happen.

Firearms are incredibly utilitarian and, quite honestly, you have not devoted a fraction of the time I have to this matter. I am sorry my friend, but I would implore you to broaden your horizons.

I've spent a good deal of my time speaking on this matter to very intelligent and educated people and, invariably, what it boils down too is misunderstanding and ignorance. I know this applies to you judging by your statements and arguments. You're also, seemingly, from Germany so your position is hardly surprising.

Let me say this, I'm 23 and weigh 250 lbs. I'm a power lifter. If I wanted to kill somebody it wouldn't take much in the way of effort for me to brutalize them through force- yet, I've never been in a single fight my entire life. The only thing that really comes close was to a tussle I had with a boy named Christian when I was 9 and we bonded over the experience (as males tend to).

I have never raised my hand or considerable strength against anyone in anger, I prefer words. I even let someone punch me across the head, striking my temple and while angered I let the matter go and didn't resort to violence. I'm a passionate, verbose person but I remain in control of my actions.

I do not entertain fantasies of SHTF scenarios, although I would hardly consider those thoughts to be 'abnormal' anyway. I do often dwell on what would happen in a violent confrontation, but normally this centers around the question of "how would I act? Would I be able to function or freeze?". These are thoughts any sane person (let alone male) should have, regardless of where you live.

Preparedness is all. But that doesn't mean one is inherently bellicose. I believe in having a martial culture, in the sense that men are tough and know how to fight, having a strong (but not exorbitant) military. I do not buy into the feminized and emasculated concept of society that the west is embracing.

But this hardly makes me 'evil' or 'illogical'. I would hope, by now, that most people on this forum would know me for who I am and that when I stand strongly for something it is not baseless. When in fact my position is weaker, I will cede it. I used to be a strong pro-Republican, pro-military conservative... Then I cast all that aside when I looked harder at the facts and sought out other opinions.

I've looked long and hard at firearms and I have remain unchanged throughout. There is little to no evidence stating that firearms negatively impact net crime or, essentially, 'create' crime. It just isn't there. From what I have read there is, in fact, a slight negative correlation with the growth of crime when firearms are present- but there are many, many factors. Poverty level, population density, and so on.

Cars and doctors kill far and away more people per year than firearms do in the United States. Cops accidentally shoot more innocent bystanders when engaging criminals than private citizens, does that not say something? You cannot rely on the police to defend you, in fact our courts have found that they have no legal compulsion to do this*. To wit, you are responsible for your own protection here- and this is exactly how it should be.

Which is tragic. Germans are an incredible people abd your nation rightfully remains a pillar in the annals of history. I cannot stress enough how much Americans admire and respect you guys. It is often a mark of pride, as it is in my own family, to have a German ancestry.

Most people I know have an overwhelming level of appreciation for your ingenuity, meticulous level of detail and skill in engineering. A common sentiment is if Germans made it and designed it you know its good. Also we love Oktoberfest.

Whether or not guns are responsible for higher crime rates isn't even the issue here. It's the twisted agenda of people that guns are an important part of out life. It goes as far as Morganator proclaiming that 16 year olds should be carrying guns around schools in case of an emergency.

Seriously, are people really that naive? I get that you want to defend yourself but owning 5 guns has nothing to do with that anymore. Do you expect a gang shoot out?

So you are basically saying 1 gun is fine but anything more is overkill and has noting to do with defending yourself anymore?

Originally Posted by Rapture

A poorly perceived retrocausality.

I agree.

I don't really care for guns, but once I get my own house I'll likely buy a handgun. It makes sense to me to own one because of the additional safety it provides for my home. If I lived in a worse part of town I'd probably already have one.

But I don't like the overbearing 'gun mindset' some people have. I don't want guns to be normalized, as if they're an integral part of living your life, where people are walking around with M16's so that when Hitler shows up they all can turn into Billy Badass and take him down. I understand the intent for safety procedure, but there's a certain point where it turns into misguided paranoia, or even obsession.

Um, guns are a part of US history and the lives of many Americans. Also, you must really hate switzerland.

Which is tragic. Germans are an incredible people abd your nation rightfully remains a pillar in the annals of history. I cannot stress enough how much Americans admire and respect you guys. It is often a mark of pride, as it is in my own family, to have a German ancestry. Most people I know have an overwhelming level of appreciation for your ingenuity, meticulous level of detail and skill in engineering. A common sentiment is if Germans made it and designed it you know its good. Also we love Oktoberfest.

Actual supermarkets (Whole Foods, United, Market Street, Albertson's, Brookshires) don't sell guns. I think even most other stores that are similar to Wal-Mart don't even sell guns/ammo. Even stores similar to WalMart don't carry guns, ammo and some don't even carry knives (other than kitchen sets).

Typically if you're getting a gun, you're going to a specialty store. Gander Mountain, Academy Sports/Outdoors, Dick's Sporting Goods, Bass Pro Shop and Cabela's are the most popular ones. Then of course there are pawn shops (which I'm on the fence about whether or not they should be able to buy/sell guns).

Originally Posted by Christopher

He meant some Walmarts do not sell guns/ammo. Supermarkets? No, just Walmart. I don't know of any "supermarket" (supermarket means grocery store around here) that sells weapons.

lol....not sure about Texas though.

Haha, you'd think, right? I've been to one's here, though, that are a part of the "we don't sell guns or ammo" crowd. You really can't be too sure what you're going to find in stores here. I've been inside of a gas station and half of it was a thrift store with used clothing items.

Actual supermarkets (Whole Foods, United, Market Street, Albertson's, Brookshires) don't sell guns. I think even most other stores that are similar to Wal-Mart don't even sell guns/ammo. Even stores similar to WalMart don't carry guns, ammo and some don't even carry knives (other than kitchen sets).

Typically if you're getting a gun, you're going to a specialty store. Gander Mountain, Academy Sports/Outdoors, Dick's Sporting Goods, Bass Pro Shop and Cabela's are the most popular ones. Then of course there are pawn shops (which I'm on the fence about whether or not they should be able to buy/sell guns).

Alright I got it. I don't think we have anything like Walmart over here.

Yeah, pawn shops sound scary. Specially if there are any like the sketchy ones in movies.